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Both strong and stylish, Spiral Cone Legs work in many typesof decors.

Spiral Cone Legs Offers Smart Support

When Lance Stephenson agreed back in the late 1990s to help his niece with a science fair project, he unknowingly created not one but two inventions: a launching chamber for a water bottle rocket as well as Spiral Cone Legs, an innovative alternative to the traditional table leg.

Stephenson constructed the launching tube by bending a series of steel rods into a spiraling cylinder, using fabricating machinery that he created expressly for the project. The rocket launcher was an instant success in his niece’s classroom. Stephenson subsequently made a number of these as gifts for friends and family out of his workshop in Ventura, Calif.

Years later, Stephenson and his wife, Silvia, were at dinner when she hit on an idea for table legs. Stephenson at the time had begun fabricating concrete tabletops and was looking for a creative way to support them. Silvia sketched her idea on a dinner napkin, and Stephenson seized on it.

“I thought the idea was beautiful! I knew immediately that I could make it work because of my experience with the rocket launcher,” Stephenson explains. “I still had the machinery—the coiler, motor and gear box—I had built to make the launcher. So I created the first set of Spiral Cone Legs, and they just looked ‘right’ to me.”

Spiral Cone Legs come in sizes ranging from 7 1/2inches to 42 1/2 inches, making them suitable foreverything from a low bed or coffee table to a highcounter. Shown is a 36-inch angled table leg.

Stephenson launched Spiral Cone Legs online in January 2010. The legs are made entirely by hand from 1/4-inch steel round bar that is formed and welded into a spiral cone and ends at a 1 1/2-inch solid steel ball. Each leg is then sand-blasted and powder-coated for long-lasting durability.

Spiral Cone Legs are available in a wide range of sizes, from 7 1/2 inches for a sofa or bed to 42 1/2 inches for a counter or bar, and in straight or angled designs. The standard powder-coat color is a semi-gloss black; custom colors are available for an additional charge.

Within days of the product launch, Stephenson began receiving orders for the legs and garnering rave reviews from customers who have purchased them for sofas, tables of every description, desks, cabinets, countertops, bars and a host of other furnishings.

“I purchased a set of spiral legs from spiralconelegs.com for a custom zinc tabletop,” wrote one customer. “Besides being unusual and interesting, they are very strong and sturdy … My husband installed them in about 10 minutes and voila! I couldn’t be more pleased with my purchase.”

According to Stephenson, one reason the legs are so sought after is that they strike the perfect balance between form and function.

The spiral/cone design, steel-rod construction and powder coating make Spiral Cone Legs inherently strong, sturdy and durable as well as suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. These characteristics also combine to make an artistic, one-of-a-kind piece that transforms everyday furnishings into something creative and stylish.

Still, for Stephenson, it’s most important that the legs do the job they’re intended to do. “I’m drawn to things that are functional first,” he says. “Most things, if they’re done well and serve a pure function, are quite often very beautiful.”

Customers tend to agree and find that Spiral Cone Legs not only solve their furniture-support needs but also are suitable within a wide range of décor styles, from industrial and mid-century modern to eclectic and even traditional.

“I appreciate modern design, and I was looking for sturdy, sleek, beautiful table legs to create a unique dining table for my eclectic home,” wrote one customer. “The table legs arrived exactly as described, and I have the coolest dining table in town!”

“We purchased four Spiral Cone Legs to turn an old door into a dining table,” wrote another. “The craftsmanship of the legs was excellent, and they are beautiful!”

One of the best selling points of Spiral Cone Legs has been their creator’s commitment to handling special orders. Customers find that Stephenson is readily available to discuss their projects, to custom-design a leg if needed and to quickly fulfill their requests.

As one customer testified on the Spiral Cone Legs website, “Lance’s work is first-class … He made himself available by phone to discuss my needs and to ensure I was very happy with the end result. I randomly found him with a Google search for table legs so I could transform an old computer desk. He treated me like a repeat customer from the beginning. I would definitely buy from Lance again. He’s a skilled artisan with great customer service!”

For Stephenson, there can be no greater praise. “All I’ve ever wanted to be was an entrepreneur,” he says, “and I enjoy offering customers a product I feel so passionate about.”